The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets.

• Author: Fried, Lisbeth S.
• Position: Book Review

The Neo-Babylonian Empire and Babylon in the Latter Prophets. By DAVID STEPHEN VANDERHOOFT. Harvard Semitic Museum Publications, vol. 59. Atlanta: SCHOLARS PRESS, 1999. Pp. xii + 246. $29.95. [Distrib. by Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Ind.]

The present monograph is a revised version of a doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University in May of 1996. Vanderhooft asks if the biblical texts shed light on the phenomenon of Babylonian imperialism in the years 605-539 B.C. His goal is two-fold: to determine how the Babylonians conceived of and implemented their role as rulers, and to examine if the response of one subject population in particular can furnish independent evidence about that rule.

From the Babylonian royal inscriptions Vanderhooft derives an ideology of empire that, unlike the Assyrian, did not stress conquest. Rather, the Babylonians emphasized that Marduk had placed the entire world in the hands of the king. The emperor strove to bring subject peoples into the "eternal shadow of Babylon" for their greater good. On this basis, one might have predicted that Babylon would not develop conquered lands, but deport their populations to Babylonia.

This prediction was tested by examining archaeological data in the Levant. Vanderhooft found heavy Egyptian presence in the Levant and Syria until the conquests of Nebuchadnezzar in 605. The Philistine cities fell to Babylon between 605 and 601 in a "scorched earth" policy, and by 586 Judah too had fallen. Unlike the huge amount of Assyrian pottery and material culture found in the cities they had conquered, there is no evidence of Babylonian material in the cities of Philistia or Judah. Greek pottery, which was prevalent under the Egyptians, almost disappears during the first half of the sixth century. Indeed, Vanderhooft found the entire southern Levant to be nearly depopulated after Nebuchadnezzar's incursion. After 570 Greek trade shifted to Egypt and to fortresses along the Way-of-Horns in the Sinai. At the same time, increasing numbers of people with Ionian names begin to appear as craftsmen and mercenaries in Babylon proper. Vanderhooft concludes that these had been deported along with the native inhab itants of the Levantine cities. These results are consistent with the ideology drawn from the royal inscriptions. Vanderhooft suggests that the Babylonians felt it more important to drive the Egyptians out than to establish a...